Am I celiac or not?

[Jenna Rasmus]

I used to be able to eat bread frequently but I always remember feeling sick most of my life and I didn’t understand why. I remember having attacks or unbelievable pressure throughout my stomach causing me to pass out I never understood what that was. One year I got really sick and the doctors discovered that my gallbladder was full of stones and I had been passing stones. But after they took out my gallbladder I still had attacks in my stomach and I kept the food journal and realize that every time I eat bread I had an attack in my upper abdomen. 

 

I’ve had two celiac blood tests that had said that my antibodies came back negative although at the time I barely was eating eating gluten. My liver functions were bad and my white blood cell count was bad back when I was eating bread daily and had an attack every week or so. Now the doctor thinks I have gluten sensitivity because I tested negative for celiac through the blood test but I don’t believe that at all I have had such bad attacks and being so sick from eating bread that I could not function in life and I don’t believe a sensitivity would do that to you. I used to pass out and have an anemic type reaction And had the hardest time going number 2. As soon as I went the pain started going away. I today still haven’t had an Endoscopic procedure to prove that I have celiac from a biopsy because they want you to eat two slices of bread a day for six weeks in order to test for it and I can’t even eat one without getting so sick. So I wanted to know if anyone out there has been diagnosed with celiac with these symptoms it’s just for my peace of mind knowing I actually do have celiac.

I’ve heard that celiac blood tests can be false negative. With my recent celiac blood test the anti body’s were negative but the IgA immunoglobulin was low. And I’ve read that the “low” part meant it was a false negative. 

 

 Mind you they have ruled out everything else in the book, BUT diagnose me with celiac disease because I was unable to actually do the biopsy. 

 

 

[cyclinglady]

Welcome!  

You are in a difficult position.  

Some celiacs do tests oddly (me...I test positive to ONLY the DGP IgA), some celiacs are IgA deficient and that can impact test results, and some celiacs are seronegative.  It is why the biopsy (obtained via endoscopy) is still the best way to diagnose celiac disease.  Unfortunately, it is invasive and costly.

Only you can decide what is best for you.  I am biopsy confirmed, but my hubby is not.  He has been gluten free for 17 years now.  He refuses to do the challenge because he knows gluten makes him sick and he needs to be able to function (we like paying our bills).  

You can not go by symptoms alone because those overlap with so many other illnesses.  But if your symptoms resolve on a gluten free diet, you might have your answer.  

I wish you well.